The game between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda bore definite similarities to their encounter of the day before. Black treated the opening rather passively and White obtained a large space advantage. The critical moment occurred when the Azeri decided to bring his knight to c6, thus forcing his opponent to exchange it. A far-advanced passed pawn appeared on this square that looked like a thorn in black’s position. But Duda defended resourcefully, first by solidly blockading this pawn, then by pushing his own pawns on the queenside. As he admitted after the game, he was relieved to finally play some active moves and understood that his position was in fact quite resilient. After some more attempts, a visibly disappointed Mamedyarov offered a draw. In the post-match interview, Duda felt that his chances were probably higher at rapid and blitz than in classical. The tie-break is likely to be heated.
Źródło: Text by Press Officer Yannick Pelletier; Photo courtesy: World Chess
Runda 2
So – Karjakin ½ – ½ (1 – 1)
Mamedyarov – Duda ½ – ½ (1 – 1)
Yu Yangyi – Grischuk ½ – ½ (1 – 1)
Vachier-Lagrave – Topalov ½ – ½ (1,5 – 0,5)
